Dawn Brocco's Life and Design Blog

I know, I haven't written in a week! Been tending to life and work and haven't felt like writing about my life. But, there's:

Finally A Happy Design Bit
I spent all day and night yesterday knitting, ripping and reknitting approximately 60 sq. in of a design, to get it shaped properly and not curl. By 10 pm, I had it. Hubby, the ever mechanical mind, offered a suggestion - insert some kind of wire or soft cord so the thing would hold its shape. Not a bad idea if I was making wall art. But for its intended purpose, this idea was not viable and, as a designer, it's cheating!

A designer should be able to shape whatever needs shaping. It takes more of an engineering/mathematical mind, than a mechanical one. Any advanced math skills I once had have long bit the dust from nonuse, so, I don't approach design that way. I'm more a "wing-it and see what happens" designer. Like Elizabeth Zimmermann and her one-row buttonhole, which she worked on, while sitting on a park bench in Belgium, waiting on Gaffer to finish work, canoodling with 30 buttonholes on a long strip of knitting, trying to come up with one definitive buttonhole!

What if I did this, what if I did that. A designer is a problem-solver and information hog with an aesthetic. Whip until frothy and bake until done.

I CAN'T WAIT to finish this design and send it out into the world - it's like nothing I've ever done!

And, in the also good to know category - the yarn I'm using - Cascade Yarns Eco+ - held up fabulously to all the ripping and reknitting. It didn't look worn at all. C'est bon!

Has anyone used Cascade Yarns new LUNA yarn? It's a heavy worsted/chunky wt 100% Peruvian cotton, and organically grown, it *seems*. At least that's what "tanguis" means, as seen on the Wool Connection site (though they spelled it tanquis). An explanation here: The Bellwether.

From the photos I've seen, it looks to be soft, not a hard-feeling cotton, as some mercerized, tightly spun cotton yarns can be. For the intended purpose - a washcloth - this would be ideal. I know that Crystal Palace's Cotton Chenille is usually used for nice washcloths, but it's over $2 more per 50 grams and isn't from organically grown cotton. I was recently in a design conundrum regarding cotton yarns and the fact that 25% of the world's pesticides are used in the production of cotton. So, if the Luna is indeed organically grown, it wins hands down over Cotton Chenille.

Onward.